2 min
Module 1: The Lean Startup Mindset
Module 2: Defining Your Vision
Module 3: The Build-Measure-Learn Feedback Loop
Module 4: The Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
Module 5: Validating with Customers
Module 6: Pivoting or Persevering
20 min
Content
Assignment
In the Build-Measure-Learn loop, the "Learn" phase leads to one of two critical decisions: to pivot or to persevere. A pivot is a fundamental change in your business strategy, a structured course correction designed to test a new hypothesis after the initial one has been invalidated. It is the core mechanism of adaptive innovation.
1. When to Pivot: The Signals
Knowing when to pivot is a skill. It requires honesty and a clear-eyed analysis of your data. You should consider a pivot when:
Your MVP tests have consistently invalidated your Leap-of-Faith Assumption.
Your actionable metrics (from A/B tests or cohorts) show that customers are not engaging with your product as you expected.
You've conducted customer interviews and found that your target market has a different, more pressing problem that you could solve.
The market is responding to one feature of your product, but ignoring all the others.
2. Common Types of Pivots
A pivot is not a random change; it's a strategic move to test a new, more promising hypothesis. Here are a few common types of pivots you might make:
Pivot Type
Zoom-In Pivot
Customer Segment Pivot
Platform Pivot
Revenue Stream Pivot
Description
A single feature of your product becomes the entire product.
You realize your product solves a problem for a different type of customer than you originally intended
You change from an application to a platform or vice-versa.
A simple video that explains your product's value proposition and shows how it works. A call to action (like signing up) is placed at the end.
Example
A company building a suite of collaboration tools realizes that its most popular feature, a team chat, is the only thing customers want. The company pivots to make the chat tool its sole product.
A service built for professional artists realizes that amateur hobbyists are the ones who are actually paying for it. The company pivots to focus exclusively on this new customer segment.
A social network becomes a marketplace, allowing third-party sellers to build businesses on its platform.
Validating a product concept quickly and powerfully (Dropbox famously used this).
Content
Assignment
In the Build-Measure-Learn loop, the "Learn" phase leads to one of two critical decisions: to pivot or to persevere. A pivot is a fundamental change in your business strategy, a structured course correction designed to test a new hypothesis after the initial one has been invalidated. It is the core mechanism of adaptive innovation.
1. When to Pivot: The Signals
Knowing when to pivot is a skill. It requires honesty and a clear-eyed analysis of your data. You should consider a pivot when:
Your MVP tests have consistently invalidated your Leap-of-Faith Assumption.
Your actionable metrics (from A/B tests or cohorts) show that customers are not engaging with your product as you expected.
You've conducted customer interviews and found that your target market has a different, more pressing problem that you could solve.
The market is responding to one feature of your product, but ignoring all the others.
2. Common Types of Pivots
A pivot is not a random change; it's a strategic move to test a new, more promising hypothesis. Here are a few common types of pivots you might make:
Description
Zoom-In Pivot: A single feature of your product becomes the entire product.
Customer Segment Pivot: You realize your product solves a problem for a different type of customer than you originally intended
Platform Pivot: You change from an application to a platform or vice-versa.
Revenue Stream Pivot: A simple video that explains your product's value proposition and shows how it works. A call to action (like signing up) is placed at the end.
Example
Zoom-In Pivot: A company building a suite of collaboration tools realizes that its most popular feature, a team chat, is the only thing customers want. The company pivots to make the chat tool its sole product.
Customer Segment Pivot: A service built for professional artists realizes that amateur hobbyists are the ones who are actually paying for it. The company pivots to focus exclusively on this new customer segment.
Platform Pivot: A social network becomes a marketplace, allowing third-party sellers to build businesses on its platform.
Revenue Stream Pivot: Validating a product concept quickly and powerfully (Dropbox famously used this).
Mark As Complete
Module 6: Pivoting or Persevering